Saving Emily Quartermaine
by Namelessly Nameless
Summary: Elizabeth doesn't have a lot of people that love her. Even less people that she truly loves. When the one person she loves the most ends up in a dire situation, how far will Elizabeth go to keep her safe? Just how much will she have to sacrifice for the only true friend she has ever had?
1. Chapter 1

**_"Sometimes, in order to save the ones we love, we must make the ultimate sacrifice." - unknown_**

* * *

She has known fear all her life, has battled with it and overcome it at times, but nothing could have prepared her for this. As she stares at her one true friend completely covered in blood, Elizabeth Webber experienced a whole new kind of fear, a fear for someone she loves.

It was self-defense, she tries to remind herself, it wouldn't be a far stretch for the man laying lifeless on the hotel bed. People from his walk of life were easily seen as the perpetrators rather than the victim. One claim from Emily that she had been defending herself and the courts would easily rule in favor of her.

Why wouldn't they? She's a Quartermaine, after all. Her family practically owns half the town while her future husband owns the other half. Between the Quartermaines and the Cassadines, surely they had enough pull in this town to have her acquitted of any actual fault.

But it wasn't the world of the righteous that sends fear straight through her heart and into the deepest parts of her soul. It wasn't the world of laws and justice that has her shaking to her core and pondering the best way to get her best friend out of this. No. It wasn't that world she feared.

It is the world of which this man has spawned from. The world that held its own set of rules, that ushered out its own form of punishments, a world where justice never prevailed. Its that world that has her running through a zillion thoughts at once, needing to find a way to save her friend from this. Somehow, someway, she has to save her.

"I...I didn't...I didn't mean to...to kill him." Emily shakes as the gun drops from her hand, falling with a loud bang onto the freshly polished floor. "Elizabeth, I..."

"Its okay." she assures, quickly making her way over to her friend's side. "Take your clothes off."

"Wha...what?" Emily looks at her in complete disbelief. "I just killed someone and you want me to take my clothes off."

"Just do it, please." she practically begs as she undresses herself. "We don't have a lot of time."

"Elizabeth..."

"Emily, please!" she snaps. "Just trust me."

Though she felt completely confused and in shock over what she has done, Emily obliges her best friend's request and removes her outer layer of clothing, leaving her in her undergarments. It wasn't until Elizabeth started dressing in the blood soaked clothes that Emily finally understood what her friend was implying.

"No!" Emily practically shouts. "No, I won't let you do this!"

"Take my clothes and get out of here." Elizabeth instructs, shoving her clothes into Emily's arms. "Emily, please, just go."

"You don't get to do this." Emily states sternly as Elizabeth wipes the handle of the gun and proceeds to put her fingerprints on it. "You don't get to save me this time!"

"Too late." Elizabeth places a soft kiss upon her friend's forehead before shoving her out of the room. "Remember what you said when we met?"

"You're like a white knight..."

"Always willing to save a damsel in distress." Elizabeth laughs softly in spite of the situation they have found themselves in. "Go, Em. Please."

Ignoring every instinct in her body, Emily rushes down the hallway, making it around the corner before the police storm into the hotel room. For a moment, her feet try to bring her back to the room, but she catches herself before she's able to make her presence known. With tears frozen in her eyes, she watches as Elizabeth is taken away in handcuffs. A blank expression on her face as they do.

Pulling out her cellphone, Emily calls the only person she can think to call in a situation like this, the only person she trusts to take care of the only other person that has ever sacrificed anything for her out of love. Punching in the numbers she knows by heart, she calls up her brother.

"Jason?" she whispers through her tears as her voice grows thick with emotion. "I need your help."

"Are you okay?" he questions immediately, audibly dropping whatever he was doing and booking it out of whatever room he was in. "Where are you?"

"The Metro Court Hotel." she says quickly. "I'm on my way to the police station."

"What happened?"

"Please...can you meet me there?" she asks with every drop of desperation that she feels. "I know its the last place you ever want to be..."

"I'm on my way." he says without hesitation, a sense of fear starting to settle into his heart.

"And Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring Diane."

"Emily..."

"Please, Jason." she says with conviction, discreetly making her way down to her car. "I promise I'll explain everything when I see you."

"I'm on my way."


	2. Chapter 2

**_"Sometimes, in order to save the ones we love, we must make the ultimate sacrifice." - unknown_**

* * *

The cold metal binding her wrists together has begun to rub her skin raw, a level of pain shooting up through her arms with every slight movement she makes. Pain, however, is nothing new to her. She has lived with it for many years. It doesn't faze her.

Sitting upon the freezing cold interrogation room chair, her hands linked to the metal table in front of her, she remains completely silent. Refusing to breathe a single word as cop after cop enters and exits the room. There's nothing they can do to her that she hasn't lived through a million times over.

Being the unwanted child of three, she has lived through hell and back again. On the days that they even bothered to recognize her existence, she had been left with less than ideal neighbors, forced to fend for herself against the bullying of the children whose home she had been thrust into.

These cops...no difference. She'll survive them the way she survived all those kids. In silence.

...

Pacing frantically in the parking lot, Emily feels her anxiety hitting new levels as her mind tries to convince her that she has to walk through those doors and free her best friend from the obligation she has placed herself in. Or was that guilt? She's guilty isn't she? She killed that man. She did it. Not Elizabeth.

"Shut up!" she yells at her mind, begging for the thoughts to cease for a single moment. "Please, shut up!"

"Emily?" her brother's voice causes her to turn in his direction, shocked that she had been so deep into her thoughts that she hadn't heard his bike pull up. "What's wrong?"

"I..." she tries to get the words out, but its hard. The words practically choking her with its truth. "I...I killed someone."

"What?!" Jason practically chokes on her confession, unable to think that his sister, the painstakingly sweet Emily, could ever kill anyone. "What happened?"

"I should have told you the moment I found out who he was." Emily mutters, wrapping her arms around herself in a defensive manner, afraid of spilling it all to her brother. "He had been so nice...so sweet...but it was all a game...it wasn't real. All he wanted...all he..."

"Breathe." he instructs her, needing her to focus long enough to tell him what he needs to know. "Forget about what you should have told me and tell me what I need to know now. Who was he?"

"Johnny Zacchara."

And, just like that, she watched her brother's infamous blank expression shield his face from portraying just how bad this was. He had warned her countless times to steer clear of anyone with that last name, constantly telling her just how dangerous they were, something she had obviously taken to heart.

If only she had asked for his name the moment they met. His full name. But it just didn't seem that important at the time. He was just a simple wanderer, making his way through Port Charles, finding shelter in the small town until he could figure out where he was going next. Not once did he ever send off the vibe of being a man from the world her brother has chosen to take refuge in.

When she had found out who he truly was, it had been too late. All his lies, all his desperation, had caused her to turn a blind eye to him. As hard as it is to believe, she had believed he wasn't the dangerous man that his father is. She believed in his desire to be different. To leave that life behind him and move on. She believed his lies and its a mistake she'll forever regret for as long as she lives.

"Get in your car and go home." Jason says sternly. "You tell no one of this. Do you hear me, Emily?"

"Jason, you don't understand." Emily shakes her head, waving off his order. "That's not why I called you here."

"Do you expect me to let you confess?" he counters. "If that's what you're planning, you called the wrong brother."

"No." Emily assures. "I called you here to help Elizabeth. Please, Jason, she can't go down for this."

"Elizabeth?" a flicker of shock seeps into his eyes as he stares at his sister. "Wha...what does she have to do with this?"

"She's doing what she always does." Emily sighs, glancing over her shoulder at the station. "She's trying to save me."

Instinctively, he takes a step towards the station, unable to help himself, but he doesn't move any further. She thinks he'll go to Elizabeth's rescue, but he doesn't. Like her best friend, her brother's number one instinct is to protect her. Regardless of personal sacrifices, she's their number one concern. First, last, always.

"Lets go." he states, gesturing to her car and instructing her to get into the passenger's seat. "The faster you can solidify an alibi the better."

"Jason..." she stops him just as he opens the door for her. "Elizabeth."

"Diane will be here soon." Jason says plainly, gesturing for her to get in. "Right now, you're my priority. Let's go."

Her heart aches as she watches her brother stare at the police station for a moment longer before quickly getting into her car and driving her away from the police station as fast as the car could take them. She wants to apologize for not telling him sooner, but she knows he won't hear it. From the look on his face, it was clear that he was trying to find every way to protect her from this. Something he and Elizabeth will always have in common.

...

From in front of her to behind her back, her wrists are linked together in preparation for her transfer to the holding cells downstairs. Strange how easily cops seem to lose their cool when they realize they aren't getting anywhere with their prime suspect. From bad cop/good cop to straight up bad cop/bad cop, she has sent the station into a whole new level of crazy.

It wasn't until she was taken out of the interrogation room that she realized the reason behind their choice to move her to the holding cells for the night. Standing in all her defense lawyer glory is none other than Port Charles' best, Diane Miller. The soft look in her eyes as they met Elizabeth's told her that she knows exactly what happened.

Although Diane never approves of her methods when trying to protect Emily, she knows that there's nothing that Elizabeth wouldn't do to keep her safe. Regardless of the hell that she will undoubtedly put herself through, Emily is and always will be her top priority.

"How're you holding up?" Diane asks her once they are alone in the holding area. "I wish you didn't have to stay here, but we won't be able to get an arraignment hearing until Monday."

"Its okay, Diane." she smiles softly at the woman who cared more for her than her own mother ever could. "This was my choice. I'll be okay."

"I'd say that I hope Emily knows just how lucky she is to have you in her life, but I'm certain she does." Diane sighs, pained at the sight of Elizabeth in that ridiculously ugly jumpsuit. "I hope you know that I'm going to fight this with all I've got in me."

"I know." she assures the concerned woman. "Go home, Diane. I'll be okay."

Watching Diane reluctantly walking out of the holding area, Elizabeth lets out a deep breath once she's out of sight, allowing the fear to seep right back into her heart. She can't let anyone, not even Diane, see just how afraid she truly is. Once wind of his son's demise reaches the demented Zacchara senior, the situation will take on a whole new level of danger and she just wasn't sure how prepared she was for it.

The moment she had found out about Johnny being a Zacchara it had been too late. Emily refused to see the danger that Johnny posed. In spite of her warnings and the warnings of the Cassadine prince, Emily just couldn't allow herself to see the danger lingering over her.

In hindsight, she realizes that all of this could have been avoided if she had only made that phone call, but she promised Emily that she wouldn't bring Jason into it until she was certain that Johnny posed any real threat.

_If it turns out I'm wrong and he is dangerous, I'll call Jason myself, I swear it,_ Emily had stated with complete conviction, causing Elizabeth to step down and trust her. If only she had trusted her own instincts about the mob prince. None of this would have happened if she had only trusted her own gut. Now its on her to get Emily out of this. Regardless of what it takes, she will stop at nothing to remove any trace of Emily from this murder.


	3. Chapter 3

**_"Sometimes, in order to save the ones we love, we must make the ultimate sacrifice." - unknown_**

* * *

Her back flush against the concrete wall, she listens to the continued noises coming from all parts of the station, certain that the cops were purposely making so much noise to keep her awake. Foolish of them if that's true because she wouldn't be able to sleep in that place had there been a comfortable bed and the soothing sounds of the ocean playing on a radio.

Before she knows it, the morning staff at the station have returned for their shifts, signalling another painstaking day in their all but torturous company. What she hadn't expected, however, was the people that have decided to visit her. Obviously the news of her arrest has spread through the town, but she hadn't expected their arrival to be so soon.

"You don't have to say it." she voices before either of them could speak their minds. "I know."

"Regardless, I'm going to say it anyway." Johnny, one of her closest friends, states. "Johnny Zacchara, Liz? Really?"

"If you knew the whole story, you'd understand." Elizabeth assures him. "I had no choice."

"You had a choice." he states firmly. "You just chose the wrong one."

"We know all about it, Lizzie." Francis voices as he leans against the wall, pained to see her behind bars. "Jason told us."

"Jason knows?" she couldn't help but wrap her arms around herself in a defensive manner at the mention of him. "She told him?"

"Of course she told him!" Johnny snaps before taking a deep breath. "What were you thinking? You know that we would have taken care of it."

"If there had been time, John, I would have called you." Elizabeth counters, moving to stand as close to them as she could, her hands grasping the bars. "By the time I found her, the cops were little over five minutes out. I barely had enough time to get her out before they stormed the place."

"You should have trusted us." Johnny stares into her eyes as he rests both his hands atop of hers. "You should have trusted me."

"I'm sorry." she whispers, smiling softly as she sees just how badly this is affecting him. "If I had any other choice..."

"Emily should be the one behind bars." Johnny states beneath his breath. "Not you."

"Johnny..."

"Don't you dare defend her." Johnny cuts her off. "Not to me."

"Johnny, where are you going?" Elizabeth calls out to him as he's signalling the guard to let him out. "Johnny!"

"I'm going to do what I do." Johnny didn't even glance back at her. "I'm going to protect you."

"Johnny!" she tries to call out to him again, but he doesn't hear her. "Dammit."

"He's going to be fine." Francis voices softly, finally stepping up to the bars. "You know how he is."

"Yeah...I know." Elizabeth sighs, meeting his eyes with concern. "This is bad, Francis. Once Anthony gets the call about his son..."

"We're doing everything we can to get you out of here." Francis assures her, knowing just what she meant. "Diane's proceeding on the basis of self-defense. Knowing her, she'll be able to spin this enough to get you out on bail. We'll proceed from there."

"I know." she takes a deep breath, pulling back on her emotions, needing to stay strong. "Thanks for coming."

"Hang in there." he says softly as he gently touches her hand. "You'll get through this."

Laying her forehead against the bars so he could place a soft kiss upon it, Elizabeth keeps her eyes shut, refusing to watch him walk away the way that she had with Johnny. Listening intently, she listens as he whispers a soft I love you before making his way out of the holding area. She had known they wouldn't be happy with her, but it still didn't hurt any less to see the pain in their eyes.

...

Checking in with his sister's guards, satisfied that his sister has yet to open her mouth, Jason makes his way back downstairs to a waiting Diane. He knew that the moment he told her who was behind bars she would be in full battle mode. Her, like Johnny and Francis, can't understand the devotion she feels toward his sister, but he can. He still wasn't sure which hurt more.

"Lets go." Jason states as he slides into his leather jacket. "Cooper's ready."

"And people say that Carly's the biggest problem." Diane scoffs. "Blondie couldn't even hold a candle to your sister on her best day."

"Diane." Jason voices sternly, gesturing for the woman to walk out of the penthouse. "Lets go."

Waiting long enough for Diane to walk out of the penthouse, Jason slams the door shut before heading to the police station as fast as his bike can take him. It had taken all the restraint he possessed to stay away from the station last night, but he can't stay away today. With his sister taken care of, he just has to make sure that Elizabeth is too.

Meeting up with Cooper, he makes sure that he'll be able to enter the interrogation room shortly after Elizabeth and Diane sit down for their meeting. Since any conversation between her and her lawyer is confidential, its the best time for him to get in there and talk to her while she's not being monitored.

"Jason." she breathes as he steps through the door, glancing between him and Diane before her eyes rest on him. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you." he says simply, moving to kneel down beside her, out of view of the window. "You okay?"

"I'm okay." she whispers, a soft smile touching her lips. "You understand, don't you? Why I did this, I mean."

"Yeah. I do." he assures, knowing she needs that, for him to understand. "But you have to know that you don't owe this to her. You've done more than enough."

"I didn't do this because of what she did for me all those years ago." she shakes her head at his implication. "I did this because she's my friend and because she's your sister."

"I wish one of you would have told me." Jason sighs, sliding his hand over hers, hating to see her linked to that pathetic excuse for a table. "You shouldn't be here."

"Better me than Em." she voices, placing her free hand atop of their joined ones. "You and I both know she'd never survive something like this."

"Thank you." he finally voices, meeting her eyes with true sincerity. "For protecting her from this."

"What are friends for right?"

"Jason." Cooper voices from the doorway. "Time's up."

"I'm going to find a way to get you out of this." Jason swears, staring into her eyes for a moment longer. "Cooper will be standing guard while you're in here."

"Go." she replies, releasing her hold on his hand. "I'll be okay."

"I'll see you soon."

"See you soon."

Walking out of the room, he fights every instinct he has to just pull her out of the room and get her as far away from this as possible. Until they are able to put an end to the threat on her life, sending her away wouldn't be safe. For right now, the safest place for her to be is in that police station. With that in mind, he straddles his bike and heads off to his meeting with Sonny.

...

"I thought you said that connection was over." Diane voices when Elizabeth continues to stare at the door that Jason walked out of.

"It is." she replies, tearing her gaze from the door. "We're just friends."

"That didn't look like an exchange between friends."

"I haven't seen or spoken to Jason in over two years." Elizabeth reminds the woman. "We tried and it didn't work. We're just friends."

"If you say so." Diane lifts her hand in surrender. "I just think that there's still a spark of what used to be and, sometimes, that's enough to try again."

"Jason and I will never go there again." Elizabeth states with conviction. "Not after...just drop it, okay?"

"Consider it dropped." Diane assures. "How about we put my lawyer hours to good use and talk about your case?"

"Sure."


	4. Chapter 4

**_"Sometimes, in order to save the ones we love, we must make the ultimate sacrifice." - unknown_**

* * *

Kicking the door shut behind him, Johnny snatches up his 'anger management' bat before slamming it against the broken washer he keeps handy in his living room. One swing after another, he slams the bat into the damaged machine, hating every moment since he found out about Elizabeth.

Relax, they say. She did what she thought was right, they say. No matter how well he knows her and the reasons behind her choices, Johnny will never be okay with Elizabeth putting her life on the line like this. Everyone can keep acting like its no big deal, but he sees through it all. The Zacchara Organization will come at her with all its got and he's just not certain they're enough to save her.

There are rules in their world, rules that are never to be broken, and that will hinder their defense tremendously. Anthony, however demented the man may be, has every right to seek revenge on the person that murdered his son. The Five Families can't stand in the way of that and Sonny cannot kill Anthony for that reason alone.

With all the cards laid out, there is really only a few ways that this can end and Johnny didn't see any good in any of them. It wasn't even a question that, if it were enough, he'd lay down his life without a second thought in order to save hers, but he knows its not. His life will do nothing to squelch Anthony's desire for revenge. Only Elizabeth's will do and that didn't sit well with him.

"Give that thing a break." Francis's voice pulls him out of his bout of rage, knowing how much the man hated it when Johnny took his anger out like that. "Grab a seat."

"I'm not doing this with you." Johnny states, dropping the bat down onto the washer. "There's nothing you can say to make me okay with this."

"I know better than that." Francis points out before gesturing to the chair. "That's not what I want to talk to you about."

"What then?"

"The way you acted at the station." he voices, though he's certain that his friend had known that already. "What were you thinking? I told you to keep a handle on yourself before we even left for the station. Elizabeth is going through more than enough without you laying on the guilt."

"I fully intended to...until I saw her behind bars." Johnny had truly tried to keep his cool, but it was just too much. "She doesn't belong there, Francis, and it kills me inside that she is."

"That doesn't give you the right to tear into her the way you did."

"Give me a break, will ya?" Johnny snaps, taking a few steps away from Francis. "At least be thankful that I've kept my distance from Emily."

"Maybe you should see her." Francis suggests, knowing that most of his anger is directed to Emily and not Elizabeth. "At least that way the anger is directed at the right person."

"Trust me..." he states in a menacing tone. "...the last place you want me is anywhere near Emily Quartermaine."

"Okay, fair enough." Francis relents, knowing it was probably one the of the worst advice he's given his friend. "Look, Jason wants us to head over to the warehouse to go over everything. Think you can keep your head on straight long enough to handle this meeting?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Johnny mutters before snatching up his jacket and walking out of his apartment. "I'm driving."

Waiting long enough for Francis to get into the passenger's seat, he slams his foot on the gas petal, driving as fast as his car can take them. He knows that the way he treated Elizabeth wasn't what she needed, but he just couldn't help himself.

Seeing her there, like that, tore him apart inside and he just had to lash out. He'll check on her again before the night's out, to make sure she's okay. For now, he has a meeting with Jason to go over the next steps in their plans, hopefully the man can find the way to save Elizabeth from this because he just can't see it.

...

The station has gone into lock down for the night, almost half the force leaving for a good night's sleep, giving her some peace of mind. With barely any sleep under her belt, the fatigue was starting to get the best of her. She knows that she will have to sleep eventually, with at least another day and a half left in this place, but she just couldn't relax long enough to do it.

"Elizabeth?" a soft, understanding, voice speaks from the other side of the bars, causing her to turn her attention to the person that has found themselves in her presence.

"Cooper." Elizabeth replies, rising to her feet to make her way to the bars. "Everything okay?"

"Jason wanted me to give you this." Cooper does his best to squeeze the thick pillow through the bars, smiling slightly when she takes it into her arms and hugs it tight to her body. "He said you might be able to sleep better with it."

"Thank you." she voices softly, breathing in the familiar scent. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"Look, I don't have all the specifics, but I know that you didn't kill him." Cooper feels the need to voice. "And, for what its worth, I really hope that you can beat this."

"Thanks, Cooper." Elizabeth smiles softly, in spite of being in that godforsaken place. "For the pillow and for what you said. Its nice to hear."

"Can you do me a favor and try to get some rest?" Cooper asks as polite as he can manage. "I know this place isn't the best place to sleep, but you really need to keep your strength up."

"I'll try."

Watching him walk back to his post, Elizabeth couldn't help but be thankful for Cooper. She knows that, if they were able to, Francis and Johnny would stand guard for as long as she was in there, but they couldn't and that left the job up to Cooper. The only cop in the station that works for Jason and Sonny.

Taking a deep breath, she makes her way back over to the bed before sliding onto it, her pillow still snug against her chest. It has been so long since she has seen this pillow, the pillow that she had once slept many nights upon, back when she and Jason had been together. Its just as she remembers it. The smell and everything. The smell of home.

...

It had taken a lot longer than he thought it would, but soon enough Johnny's making his way into the holding area with the help of Cooper. Stepping up to the bars of Elizabeth's cell, a soft smile touches his lips at the sight of her curled up with the pillow that Jason said he had given to her.

A part of him wanted to wake her up, to apologize for snapping at her the way he did, but he just couldn't bring himself to. Even in a situation as dire as the one she has placed herself in, she still finds it in her to be so darn peaceful. If only he could be capable of such a feat.

Watching her sleep for a moment longer, Johnny makes a silent exit, thankful that she's able to find some sense of peace in this place. Making sure that everything has been event free, he heads out to his car where Francis is waiting for him.

"How is she?" Francis immediately questions the moment he gets into the car.

"Peaceful." Johnny finds himself voicing as he starts up the car. "She's sleeping."

"Good."

"We have to find a way to fix this." Johnny states as they pull out of the police station parking lot. "No matter the cost."

"And we will." Francis assures his friend. "I know you can't see it now, but we will find a way. We always do."

"I guess so."

It always baffles him how optimistic Francis can be, regardless of how dire the situation may be, a part of him even envying him for it. From the moment he was recruited by Jason, he and Francis have been inseparable. Maybe it was because of their differences that they worked so well together, but its times like this that he wishes he was a little more like his partner than himself.

...

Jason had known that sooner or later the guilt would swallow his sister whole, having hoped it would be a lot later, but there's no changing it now. With a heavy heart, he makes his way into the small chapel where Emily has holed herself up in. Making his way through the silent room, he stands before his sister with understanding eyes.

"Marco won't let me visit Liz." Emily says in a low voice. "I tried to sneak away, but he was already two steps ahead of me. How does he do that?"

"He's good at his job." Jason says simply, kneeling down to meet her at eye level. "I know it must be hard, but you can't see her. Not now."

"When?" Emily probes, needing to know. "If not now then when?"

"When its safe." Jason states seriously. "This isn't a game, Emily. You have to understand that."

"I do understand that..."

"Elizabeth's doing fine." Jason assures her as much as he possibly could at this point. "One of the few things keeping her that way is knowing you're safe. So, for her sake, stay away."

"Jason..." she sighs, knowing there's no way around it, not as long as its Jason telling her to keep her distance. "Will you just tell her I miss her and I'm sorry for everything. I should have listened to you guys."

"Yes, you should have." he lets out a sigh of his own before wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace. "Its gonna be okay."

"I'm so sorry, Jason." she voices as she pulls away to meet his eyes. "I know what it took to make Elizabeth safe from your world and with one stupid choice I put her right back in the line of fire."

"Go home, Em." he replies, refusing to touch that topic with his sister, not as long as he wants to keep his frustration in check. "Spend time with your fiance, plane your wedding, and just forget you ever heard the name Zacchara."

Gesturing for Marco to come forward and help Emily back to her place, Jason stares up at the cross hanging over the alter. Every part of him believes that Emily felt she was doing the right thing, much like Elizabeth, but he still couldn't help the anger that resides within him. She should have known better than to go against his warnings.

There's always a reason behind the warnings he gives. Didn't she know by now that everything he does is to keep her and everyone around him safe? For her to go against him for someone that she had just met, regardless of the reasons, left Jason with an anger that wouldn't easily disappear. Thanks to her insolence, Elizabeth is left in the balance, and that wasn't something he could ever be okay with.

"Please, god..." he whispers, slowly shutting his eyes as he put his all into this prayer. "...give me the wisdom and strength to keep everyone safe."


	5. Chapter 5

**_"Sometimes, in order to save the ones we love, we must make the ultimate sacrifice." - unknown_**

* * *

He's seen more than his fair share of blood in his lifetime, but nothing compared to this. Standing just outside the yellow tape barring the cell from further contamination, Cooper felt like his insides were turning to mush, his every emotion strangling him as he stares in at the puddle of blood on the cell floor.

This never should have happened. This was never supposed to happen. She was supposed to meet with her lawyer that morning before heading off to her arraignment hearing. After which she would have been put on bail and whisked away to one of the organization's safe houses. Not fighting for her life in a hospital operating room.

There's not much that he knows about Elizabeth Webber, not much at all, but he does know one thing; she's a good friend. The kind of friend that lays their lives on the line for the people that they love. The kind of person that deserves everything good the world has to offer. She doesn't deserve this. Not any of this.

"You shouldn't be down here." Lucky Spencer voices as he steps into the holding area. "Commissioner's having the case handed to another precinct. They should be here soon."

"I know." Cooper voices, tearing his gaze from the scene to look at his partner. "I just had to see it one more time."

"There's nothing you could have done, man." Lucky assures him. "It was a freak incident. Nothing any of us could have done to prevent it."

"So they keep saying." Cooper glances back in at the cell. "And I don't believe you anymore than I believe them. This never should have happened."

"You're not seriously saying that one of us are responsible."

"I'm not saying anything." Cooper counters, looking at Lucky plainly. "This never should have happened. Plain and simple."

"I knew Elizabeth in high school, if it wasn't this, it would have been something else." Lucky says simply before signalling for the guard to open the gate. "Come on, the Commissioner wants us to check out a claim down at the bank."

Following his partner out of the station, Cooper can't help but picture Elizabeth as she had been before he left for the day. If only he had known this would happen, he never would have left the station. He would have slept in the on-call room until the start of his next shift.

He has no idea how this could have happened, but Lucky and everyone else in the station can be damn certain that he will find out. There was no way that this could have happened without an inside man. No way in hell. So, regardless of what the Commissioner wants, Cooper's not going to let this drop until he solves this case.

...

Pacing the hospital waiting area, Johnny could feel his reserve shattering the angrier he became, anxious for any word on Elizabeth. He could see Francis trying his best to keep his cool, but Johnny could see his friend's reserve shattering away just as badly as his. This should never have happened. If not for Jason, Johnny would have put a bullet in Cooper the second the words left his lips.

They did everything to keep her in the station's holding cell, afraid of what would happen if she were sent to prison while awaiting her arraignment hearing, only for her to get stabbed in her cell. No one can tell them how the bastard got the knife into the cell in the first place or why there weren't any guards stationed outside the holding area.

No one can tell them anything and that only proves to add fuel to his already raging anger. Cops protecting each other rather than protecting the innocent woman locked away in their pathetic excuse for a holding cell. If they think that Johnny's going to let this slide by like nothing happen, the police commissioner has another thing coming.

"She's going to make it." Francis voices to no one in particular. "She has to make it."

"For once in your life, Corelli, keep your optimism to yourself!" Johnny snaps, unable to listen to him, regardless of how badly he wanted to believe it. "There's no way to know until she's out of the OR."

It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye after that, most of it a blur, as Emily walked out of the elevator and over to them. Marco had tried to keep her away from Johnny, knowing that she wouldn't be safe around him, but she wouldn't listen. She never listens. The more she tried to apologize to Johnny, the angrier he grew.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Johnny finally shouts, beyond tired of her whiny mouth. "Your apologies mean nothing to me! YOU mean NOTHING to me!"

"Johnny..." she tries, but he refuses to hear her.

"Get her away from me before I kill her where she stands." Johnny states, forcing himself to walk away from her before he does something everyone else will regret. "Now, Francis."

"Take her home." Francis finally speaks to Marco, blocking Emily's advance on Johnny. "She shouldn't be here."

"I need to be here for Elizabeth." Emily voices, giving up on getting Johnny to hear her out. "Please don't send me away."

"This is just the beginning of the mess you've put her in." Francis states sternly, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Go home. Stay put. Or Johnny will be the least of your worries. Do I make myself clear?"

"I..." she tries again before stopping at the sight of Francis's glare. "Crystal."

"Marco." Francis states, turning his back on them. "Now!"

Dropping into a chair, forcing his anger towards Emily to subside, Johnny tries to focus on the fact that Elizabeth didn't lose an excessive amount of blood. Cooper had been able to get to her before she was able to bleed out, raising her chances of survival by a good amount. As hard as it is to look on the positive side, he has to try for her sake and his.

...

In spite of how painful it is to watch the doctors operate on Elizabeth, he could do nothing but watch the entire surgery from start to finish. While his emotions wash over him, nearly drowning him in the pain, his mind is watching their every move with apt focus. His medical knowledge kicking in as he watches every step of the surgery.

From the moment the words left Cooper's mouth, everything inside of him twisted up into millions of knots, fearful for Elizabeth's survival. He's not sure how Zacchara was able to get someone into town without him knowing, but its a mistake he won't soon make again. Once she's able to be moved, he's taking her far from here.

His cellphone vibrating, Jason pulls it out to check the id before shoving it back into his pants after pressing the ignore button. He has ordered Francis and Johnny to handle his sister, unable to handle her with any form of finesse at this point. For now, he has to keep his distance, until he's certain Elizabeth will make it past this.

There had been only one other time that he has seen her like this, doctors surrounding her, machines monitoring her vitals, the one memory that will forever haunt his ever waking moment. He had been just as terrified then as he is now, only then they had a lot more to lose.

Carly had been in the middle of one of her episodes at the time and, believing Elizabeth to be a threat, she shoved her down a flight of stairs at Sonny's birthday bash. Watching as Elizabeth flew down the stairs, unable to do anything to help her, killed everything in him.

After all Elizabeth had done to help Carly overcome her episodes, for her to throw Elizabeth down the stairs, had him nearly putting a bullet in his best friend. If not for Sonny standing in the way, Jason would have shot Carly without even a second thought. It had taken everything in him to turn his back on her and hop into the ambulance to go to the hospital with Elizabeth.

Carly had broken through the fog long enough to see what she had done, but it was too late. The damage had been done and it couldn't be reversed. When the doctor had told him all he had truly lost that day, Jason couldn't find his way out of the darkness. Nothing compared to telling Elizabeth what they had lost. The emptiness that filled her eyes tore through him in a way that he didn't believe was possible.

To see her hurting again because of his life was hard to bear, but he's not going to fail her like he had before. No matter what she wants, he's not leaving her side, not again. Leaving her, regardless of how badly she wanted him to, had been the hardest thing he ever had to do. Not again.

"Hey." a soft voice speaks as he feels a hand slipping into his.

"Hey." he voices, gripping her hand as she leans against him, thankful to have her in that moment. "You didn't have to."

"I think I did." she counters, turning her gaze to the operating room where Elizabeth still remains. "She'll pull through. She always does."

"Carly." he voices, hating her optimism almost as much as Francis's. "Don't."

"Fine." she shakes her head. "Between the two of us, we'll make sure she pulls through. That much I can guarantee."

After Carly had realized what she had done, she personally checked herself into rehab, accepting that she needed a lot more help than any of them could give her. The only downside, in his opinion, anyway, was that she came out of there with an optimistic view that's only rivaled by Francis's. He still wasn't sure which version of her he preferred. Of course, this version didn't come with the over the top schemes, so there was the plus side.

"Sonny?" he questions, needing to distract himself from the surgery for a moment.

"Working." she assures. "He's not going to stop until he figures out how this happened."

"Good."

"We won't let the person responsible get away with it." Carly states firmly. "You can trust that."

It would be another hour or so before Elizabeth is wheeled out of the OR and up to recovery. From the look on the doctor's face as he approaches Jason and Carly did nothing to ease the fears that resided within them both. Something worse was happening and neither of them knew how to brace themselves for the news.

"While she is stable, we'd advise against any form of transfer. Though the wounds weren't deep enough to rupture any vital organs, they were deep enough to cause a good amount of damage." the doctor explains. "Once we set up a room for her in the ICU, we'll have her wheeled up and you can go in and see her."

There was something else, something he wasn't telling them and they could both see it. Like many doctors, however, he didn't divulge any further information and walked away from them before they were able to question him further. Looking at each other, they knew that the information withheld is more important than anything the doctor did reveal.

...

Barking orders at all his men, Sonny could feel his anger boiling to a whole new level, something that he hadn't believed to be possible. As much as anything else, Sonny hated dirty cops, more so if the victim is a woman. For the woman to be someone he cares for, well, Sonny's need for revenge has just grown that much more.

"I don't give a fuck what it takes!" Sonny snaps. "No one rests until we find the son of a bitch that let this happen!"

All around him, men are jumping into their respective vehicles to hit the streets, finding anything and everything they can about the cop that allowed Elizabeth to be attacked. The only way any prisoner gets a weapon into the precinct is if a cop allowed it to happen. And whoever that son of a bitch is, they're going to regret their lapse in judgement until their very last breath. Which will only come once Sonny's need for revenge is squelched. Which, as many know, will not come easily or quickly.


End file.
